1. Silver Nitrate – Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Publish Date: 18 July, 2023

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film—and awakens one woman’s hidden powers.

“No one punctures the skin of reality to reveal the lurking, sinister magic beneath better than Silvia Moreno-Garcia.”—Kiersten White, #1 bestselling author of Hide

Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood.

Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy. The magic film was never finished, which is why, Urueta swears, his career vanished overnight. He is cursed.

Now the director wants Montserrat and Tristán to help him shoot the missing scene and lift the curse . . . but Montserrat soon notices a dark presence following her, and Tristán begins seeing the ghost of his ex-girlfriend.

As they work together to unravel the mystery of the film and the obscure occultist who once roamed their city, Montserrat and Tristán may find that sorcerers and magic are not only the stuff of movies.

Why I’m excited for it: Mexican Gothic was a 5-Star read from me, and I have heard The Daughter of Doctor Moreau was even better. It goes without saying that this novel by Moreno-Garcia should be just as good, if not better. I also love a good horror flick about a sketchy film – Antrum, Sinister, The Ring. Heck, even the show “American Horror Stories: Drive In” did a mini short about a spook film “Rabbit Rabbit”. This tale will sure to follow suit and keep you on your toes.

2. The Sunset Crowd – Karin Tanabe

Publish Date: 04 July, 2023

“The Sunset Crowd is everything I want in a book―complex characters, glamorous locales, and a plot that’s as smart as it is juicy. You’re going to love it.” ––Rachel Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs

Fame. Fortune. Love. You can’t have them all.

Meet LA darling Evra Scott. The daughter of an Oscar-winning director and a Brazilian bombshell actress, Evra is the city’s reigning style queen. By day, she’s at the helm of Sunset on Sunset, the store beloved by Hollywood’s young and beautiful. By night, she’s on the arm of Kai de la Faire, Hawaii’s hottest export, and the screenwriter of the moment.

Enter Theodora Leigh. The twenty-something Paramount assistant looks like a big screen star, but her sights are firmly set behind the scenes, as she fights to become a movie producer in a town where sex and sexism sell. Theodora’s got the talent and instincts, but she’s not willing to wait. Luckily, getting ahead by any means necessary is LA’s mantra.

Observing it all is Bea Dupont, a photographer for Rolling Stone and Vogue, who never misses the party, but always keeps to its fringes. A Manhattan blue blood turned West Coast bohemian, Bea holds Evra’s Sunset crowd together. She’s also Kai’s oldest friend, and she’s harbored a not-so-secret flame for him since they met at an elite Swiss boarding school.

But in Hollywood, no one stays on top forever. And it’s not long before Theodora’s unrelenting ambition sets in motion a dramatic quest for power in an industry that is as glamorous as it is duplicitous.

From Rodeo Drive to the French Riviera, Karin Tanabe’s The Sunset Crowd is a tale of survival and reinvention, of faking it until you make it, and the glittering appeal of success and stardom, as it seeks to answer that timeless question―who gets to have the American dream?

Why I’m excited for it: It is summer, and I had to make sure to have one fun summer read on here. And nothing screams summer more than 1970’s SoCal. Having loved Malibu Raising, this novel seems like another fabulous Historical Fiction Beach Read.

3. Cutting Teeth – Chandler Baker

Publish Date: 18 July, 2023

“With devourable writing and pitch-perfect humor, Cutting Teeth is a sharp, original, wickedly astute look at the sting of modern motherhood.” —Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push

New York Times bestselling author Chandler Baker’s Cutting Teeth is a witty, thrilling story of parental love that asks: is there anything a mother won’t do for her children?

Darby, Mary Beth, and Rhea are on personal quests to reclaim aspects of their identities subsumed by motherhood—their careers, their sex lives, their bodies. Their children, though, disrupt their plans when an unsettling medical condition begins to go around the Little Academy preschool: the kids are craving blood.

Then a young teacher is found dead, and the only potential witnesses are ten adorable four-year-olds.
Soon it becomes clear that the children are not just witnesses, but also suspects . . . and so are their mothers.

As the police begin to look more closely, the children’s ability to bleed their parents dry becomes deadly serious. Part murder mystery, part motherhood manifesto, Cutting Teeth explores the standards society holds mothers to—along with the ones to which we hold ourselves—and the things no one tells you about becoming a parent.

Why I’m excited for it: This novel sounds like AHS: Hotel, meets Santa Clarita Diet, meets Desperate Housewives. There is something so enticing about Toddler Vampires. The Volturi would never allow it and neither did the countess. So how are these mother’s going to keep their children inline?

4. The Housekeepers – Alex Hay

Publish Date: 04 July, 2023

The night of London’s grandest ball, a bold group of women downstairs launch a daring revenge heist against Mayfair society in this dazzling historical novel about power, gender, and class

“Rollicking fun and entirely original… Anyone who relishes a good party gone wrong will devour this.”
—Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary

Mrs. King is no ordinary housekeeper. Born into a world of con artists and thieves, she’s made herself respectable, running the grandest home in Mayfair. The place is packed with treasures, a glittering symbol of wealth and power, but dark secrets lurk in the shadows.

When Mrs. King is suddenly dismissed from her position, she recruits an eclectic group of women to join her in revenge: A black market queen out to settle her scores. An actress desperate for a magnificent part. A seamstress dreaming of a better life. And Mrs. King’s predecessor, with her own desire for vengeance.

Their plan? On the night of the house’s highly anticipated costume ball—set to be the most illustrious of the year—they will rob it of its every possession, right under the noses of the distinguished guests and their elusive heiress host. But there’s one thing Mrs. King wants even more than money: the truth. And she’ll run any risk to get it…

After all, one should never underestimate the women downstairs.

“A deliciously clever novel… You’ll never have so much fun cheering on grand larceny.”
—Nina de Gramont, New York Times bestselling author of The Christie Affair, a Reese’s Book Club Pick

Why I’m excited for it: This novel sounds a lot like Ocean’s 8 to me, or the final scene of Emma Stone’s Cruella. Very “Eat the Rich” of Mrs. King for getting revenge with a heist plot. And based on the reviews from those that received ARCs, it is sure to keep readers on their toes.

5. The Sun and the Void – Gabriela Romero-LaCruz

Publish Date: 25 July, 2023

“Evocative and captivating. An enthralling tale of ancient gods, dangerous magic, family and love.” ―​Sue Lynn Tan, author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess

Two women embark on a unforgettable quest that draws them into a world of dark gods and ancient magic in this sweeping fantasy debut inspired by the history and folklore of colonial South America. 

Reina is desperate.

Stuck on the edges of society, Reina’s only hope lies in an invitation from a grandmother she’s never met. But the journey to her is dangerous, and prayer can’t always avert disaster.

Attacked by creatures that stalk the mountains, Reina is on the verge of death until her grandmother, a dark sorceress, intervenes. Now dependent on the Doña’s magic for her life, Reina will do anything to earn—and keep—her favor. Even the bidding of an ancient god who whispers to her at night.

Eva Kesaré is unwanted.

Illegitimate and of mixed heritage, Eva is her family’s shame. She tries to be the perfect daughter, but Eva is hiding a secret: Magic calls to her. 

Eva knows she should fight the temptation. Magic is the sign of the dark god, and using it is punishable by death. Yet it’s hard to ignore power when it has always been denied you. Eva is walking a dangerous path. And in the end, she’ll become something she never imagined.

Praise for The Sun and the Void:

“A rich, enchanting read and an impressive debut.”―Ava Reid, award-winning author of Juniper & Thorn

“A gorgeous epic of family and power, gods and magic, longing and betrayal.” ―​Melissa Caruso, author of the Rooks and Ruin series

The Warring Gods
The Sun and the Void

Why I’m excited for it: This will be Gabriela Romero-LaCruz debut novel, and the first of her new series “The Warring Gods”. An LGBTQIA+ Sapphic Magical/Fantasy with a Venezuelan/Columbian folklore and setting. I am not normally big on Fantasy series, cause they are long and you really have to commit to reading all of them, but this one sounds like everything I would be into.

6. The Deep Sky – Yume Kitasei

Publish Date: 18 July, 2023

Yume Kitasei’s The Deep Sky is an enthralling sci fi thriller debut about a mission into deep space that begins with a lethal explosion that leaves the survivors questioning the loyalty of the crew.

They left Earth to save humanity. They’ll have to save themselves first.

It is the eve of Earth’s environmental collapse. A single ship carries humanity’s last hope: eighty elite graduates of a competitive program, who will give birth to a generation of children in deep space. But halfway to a distant but livable planet, a lethal bomb kills three of the crew and knocks The Phoenix off course. Asuka, the only surviving witness, is an immediate suspect.

As the mystery unfolds on the ship, poignant flashbacks reveal how Asuka came to be picked for the mission. Despite struggling through training back on Earth, she was chosen to represent Japan, a country she only partly knows as a half-Japanese girl raised in America. But estranged from her mother back home, The Phoenix is all she has left.

With the crew turning on each other, Asuka is determined to find the culprit before they all lose faith in the mission—or worse, the bomber strikes again.

Why I’m excited for it: Another debut novel, The Deep Sky is giving me Prometheus/We are Legion/ We are Bob/Artemis vibes. A Sci-Fi Thriller with a closed-room mystery. I can’t help but wonder, if Earth is in an environmental collapse, and this is the only chance for the human race to survive, who or what let off this bomb!

The Madwomen of Paris – Jennifer Cody Epstein

Publish Date: 18 July, 2023

Two women fall under the influence of a powerful doctor in Paris’s notorious women’s asylum in this gripping historical novel inspired by true events, from the bestselling author of Wunderland.

When Josephine arrives at the Salpêtrière asylum, she is covered in blood, badly bruised, and suffering from amnesia. She is quickly diagnosed with what the Paris papers are calling “the epidemic of the age”: hysteria, a disease is so baffling and widespread that Doctor Jean-Martin Charcot, the asylum’s famous director, devotes many of his popular public lectures to the malady. Charcot often uses hypnosis to prompt his patients to reproduce their hysterical symptoms, and to his delight, Josephine proves extraordinarily susceptible to this unconscious manipulation. He is soon featuring the young woman on his stage, entrancing her into fantastical acts and hallucinatory fits before enraptured audiences and eager newsmen—many of whom feature her on their papers’ front pages.

Laure, a ward attendant assigned to care for Charcot’s new favorite, knows that Josephine’s diagnosis is a godsend. Life in the Salpêtrière’s Hysteria ward is far easier than in its dreaded Lunacy division, from which few inmates ever return. But as Josephine’s fame grows, her memory starts to return—and with it, images of a terrible crime she’s convinced she’s committed. Haunted by these visions, and ensnared in Charcot’s hypnotic web, she starts spiraling into seeming insanity. Desperate to save the girl she has grown to love, Laure begins to plot their escape from the Salpêtrière and its doctors. First, though, she must confirm whether Josephine is truly a madwoman, doomed to die in the asylum—or a murderer, destined for the guillotine.

Both are dark possibilities—but not nearly as dark as what Laure unearths when she sets out to discover the truth.

Read my Book Review HERE!